MMCD - 16

A five-times-the-price electric bike had cost Sheng Wenyan her recently earned salary and a ring. Now, she was completely broke, no joke.

Also, when she accompanied Shen Zai here, she had planned to have a good meal after they arrived. Who would have thought that something like this would happen in the middle of their trip? Then, she fell asleep here and forgot about eating.

Now that she was awake, her stomach was empty, and her stomach was cramping uncomfortably.

Shen Zai paused when he heard her say that. He turned to look at Chen Chao. “Didn’t I tell you to take care of it?”

Chen Chao was startled. The “it” he thought Shen Zai was referring to was naturally bringing Sheng Wenyan in from outside and taking care of her wounds. How would he know if she had eaten or not if she didn’t say anything?

But he didn’t dare to say anything now. He only said, “The venue was in a hurry just now, so I rushed over. I didn’t know she...”

Shen Zai understood and looked at Sheng Wenyan with dissatisfaction. “Couldn’t you have called?”

Sheng Wenyan: “I was tired and fell asleep.”

Shen Zai shook his head and said helplessly, “Get up.”

“Huh?”

“Weren’t you going to eat?”

“Oh!”

Shen Zai looked at her leg. “Can you walk?”

“I can,” Sheng Wenyan slowly stood up from the sofa and tried to take two steps. “But what are we going to eat?”

Shen Zai looked at her, a hint of indulgence in his eyes. “What do you want to eat?”

Sheng Wenyan thought for a moment and listed off a bunch of dishes. “I want to eat foie gras, wagyu beef, and langoustines... Do you know that Western restaurant in the Central Tower? The foie gras there is really good. Let’s go?”

Chen Chao glanced at Sheng Wenyan, finding the scene a little bizarre. An assistant asking her boss to take her to a restaurant? And a high-end one at that.

But even though it was highly unreasonable, Chen Chao still heard Shen Zai turn and say to him, “Book a table.”

Chen Chao: “Yes, Mr. Shen...”

As expected, she’s still the pampered little assistant from the Sheng family.

________________________________________

After leaving the venue, they drove directly to the Central Tower.

Sheng Wenyan had been to this restaurant two or three times before and had a good impression of the foie gras and langoustines here. Coming here with an empty stomach today, her appetite was even stronger. After the food arrived, she didn’t say a word and buried her head in her food.

Shen Zai had eaten very little at noon, so even though it was still a while before dinner time, he ate a little with her.

Halfway through the meal, Shen Shuyi called. Shen Zai’s phone was on the table, so when it rang, Sheng Wenyan also saw the caller ID.

But she only glanced at it and continued to eat her delicious food.

“Uncle, are you at the company?” Shen Shuyi’s voice came through after he picked up.

Shen Zai said calmly, “I’m outside.”

“Oh, I see. Grandma asked me to call you and tell you to come home for dinner this weekend.”

“Okay, I know.”

“Mm.”

The call should have ended there, but Shen Shuyi hesitated, seeming to have more to say. Shen Zai asked directly, “Is there anything else?”

Shen Shuyi: “...Is Sheng Wenyan still at your company?”

Shen Zai didn’t expect him to suddenly ask that. He put down his fork and glanced at the person next to him who was eating happily. “Yes, why?”

Shen Shuyi was silent for a moment because he was a little surprised.

He thought that after Sheng Wenyan knew he wasn’t going to be at IZ, she would end her willful internship.

But she hadn’t left?

Shen Shuyi: “Oh... okay.”

“Is there something you need?”

“Nothing. I’ll hang up now.”

The call ended with a quick dial tone. Shen Zai frowned slightly and put down his phone.

Sheng Wenyan was about 70% full. Seeing Shen Zai hang up, she put down her chopsticks.

Shen Zai noticed her movements from the corner of his eye, thinking that she probably still had something on her mind and wanted to ask about Shen Shuyi.

“Mr. Shen, I have a question.”

Sure enough.

Sheng Wenyan: “Um, I drove you here in a rush today, and I did a great job, right?”

Shen Zai was stunned, a little surprised. “Why?”

“I mean, my actions today contributed to the company, didn’t they?”

“What are you trying to say?”

Sheng Wenyan leaned forward slightly and whispered, “I just wanted to say~ since I contributed to the company, shouldn’t the money I spent on the electric bike be reimbursed?”

Shen Zai really didn’t expect her to beat around the bush not for Shen Shuyi, but for this. The corner of his mouth curved into a slight, amused smile. “6,000 yuan, plus a 10,000-yuan ring?”

Sheng Wenyan was not embarrassed at all. She said, “No, no, no, forget about the ring. I gave that away out of spite. But the 6,000 yuan... I think exchanging 6,000 yuan for the company’s reputation and profits is a great deal. Don’t you think?”

“Oh, it is.” Shen Zai picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, saying unhurriedly, “As for the reimbursement, it’s possible.”

“Thank you, thank you. You also know that my dad has taken all my money, so I’m really poor...”

Shen Zai then continued, “But you specifically chose this restaurant today, so the cost of tonight’s meal will probably offset that.”

Sheng Wenyan was stunned and immediately became unhappy. “I didn’t say I wanted to come to this restaurant!”

“Didn’t you just ask to come to this restaurant?”

“What do you mean, ‘ask’? That was just a suggestion! A suggestion to eat our work meal here. You could have ignored it!”

“Who told you this was a work meal?”

“It’s during work hours, so of course, it’s a work meal! Hey, Mr. Shen, you’re being a little stingy.”

“Am I?”

“Yes! I’ll show you the time. We’re still on the job—”

...

The two of them went back and forth, actually debating.

Chen Chao watched for a long time, a little confused.

Shouldn’t things like this be reimbursed anyway? Why was Mr. Shen talking about it today?

After observing for a while longer, Chen Chao rubbed his nose.

Hmm... he felt like the scene in front of him was suspiciously similar to teasing a child.

________________________________________

Later, because of her injuries, Sheng Wenyan was given two days off.

On the day she went back to work, it happened to be the day of Shen Zai’s monthly family dinner at the Shen family residence. That day, following his instructions, she went to the mall to buy some health supplements for Shen Zai’s mother, Lady Zhao. Then, she drove Shen Zai’s car to his house to pick him up and took him to the Shen family’s house.

Zhao Shunzhi knew the two of them were coming and had been waiting at the gate for a while. As soon as Sheng Wenyan and Shen Zai got the things out of the car, she came over to greet them.

“Wenyan, you’re here. Oh, why don’t you come and visit me, this old lady, more often?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am. I’ve been a little busy lately. I’ll come and see you when I have free time on the weekend~ We can hang out together.”

“Good, good. Oh, you’re so sweet. It’s so much better to have a daughter. I have so many sons, but they’re all useless.”

...

The two of them chatted as they walked into the house, looking as if they had known each other for a long time. Even Shen Zai, her son, was left behind.

After they entered the house, Sheng Wenyan saw Shen Shuyi and Shen Yunni in the living room.

Sheng Wenyan’s emotions came and went quickly, and she considered herself very straightforward when it came to her feelings. Since Shen Shuyi already had a girlfriend, she naturally wouldn’t allow herself to continue pursuing him.

If she wasn’t pursuing him, he was just a schoolmate, and nothing more. So, when she saw him, she politely greeted him.

Shen Shuyi seemed a little stunned by her greeting, but after he came back to his senses, he gave a slight nod in response.

As for Shen Yunni, she didn’t react to her greeting at all.

How strange. Did I offend her?

It seemed like her attitude toward her at the bar that day was a little weird.

Even though it was strange, she never bothered to dwell on people she didn’t care about. So, she happily had dinner with Zhao Shunzhi.

After dinner, she took a walk outside. When it was almost time to go, she sent a message to Shen Zai to ask if they should leave now. But since she didn’t receive a reply, she turned around and went to find him directly.

“Miss Sheng.” The housekeeper greeted her when she came in.

Sheng Wenyan said, “Where is Mr. Shen right now?”

“He’s in the study upstairs. After you go up the stairs, turn right and walk straight. It’s the fourth door.”

“Okay, thank you.”

The Shen family’s old residence was quaint and elegant. The paintings hanging in the hallway looked very historical; she didn’t know which dynasty they were from.

Sheng Wenyan looked at them all the way and finally stopped in front of the study. The study door was not completely closed, and she could faintly hear a girl’s voice coming from inside. Sheng Wenyan was about to walk away, but she heard her own name.

“Sheng Wenyan’s private life is a mess. I heard that she only likes good-looking guys and even has a bunch of them around her. She was even more out of line in high school. She bullied a girl who liked a guy she liked and isolated her, which eventually caused the girl to drop out because of depression. Even after all that, she’s still pursuing my brother. It’s a good thing my brother also knows about these things, so he has never paid any attention to her.”

Sheng Wenyan stood still and rolled her eyes.

A messy private life, bullying people in school... Why did no one believe her no matter how many times she explained that she had nothing to do with these things?

It was clearly the other girl who liked the boy, and the boy, unfortunately, liked her. When the girl couldn’t have him, she did something extreme.

She was just an outsider the whole time, but they insisted on throwing mud on her.

Okay, she admitted that Lou Ning was right. With her face and her personality, she looked like someone who would do those things.

And it turned out to be true. Shen Yunni’s bad attitude towards her was because she had heard these things from other people.

“Is there something you need to tell me by saying all this?” At this moment, Shen Zai’s cold voice came from inside. It was faint but carried an air of authority that made people nervous.

Shen Yunni was indeed nervous. When she spoke again, her voice was a little shaky. “Uncle, I just wanted to warn you... because you’ve been having her work by your side. I heard from others that she has a bad personality. She’s selfish and only cares about having fun with her fair-weather friends. She’s a good-for-nothing heiress. A person like that... will affect your work.”

There was a moment of silence inside. The originally unconcerned Sheng Wenyan also suddenly became nervous.

She admitted that her life was a carefree one, and she wouldn’t deny being a good-for-nothing heiress... But she found that she didn’t want Shen Zai to define her that way.

Even though she knew she was like that, she was worried that he would actually see her that way.

What a ridiculous contradiction.

Sheng Wenyan pursed her lips and lifted her foot to leave—

“She works with me. I know what she’s like. I don’t need you to tell me.”

Sheng Wenyan froze, looking back in surprise.

“Uncle...”

Shen Zai: “Did your parents teach you to talk behind people’s backs and believe everything you hear?”

Shen Yunni’s throat tightened. She was a little flustered. She clearly didn’t expect Shen Zai to say that.

Shen Zai’s voice grew heavier. “You’ve just come back. Study hard. You don’t need to pass along this useless gossip. Also, stop hanging out with those kinds of friends. Otherwise, I’ll have your father send you back overseas.”

“Uncle, I’m not...”

“Get out.”

There was a mysterious silence, and then Sheng Wenyan heard footsteps. She moved to the side, but she couldn’t avoid Shen Yunni in this spot.

When they ran into each other, Shen Yunni glared at her and left angrily.

Sheng Wenyan stood there, staring blankly at her back.

“What are you doing here?” a voice suddenly said from behind her. The tone was heavy and carried a sense of distance.

But Sheng Wenyan’s feeling about the voice was now different from the first time she heard it. She didn’t feel it was distant. Instead, she felt a sense of familiarity, even closeness.

Sheng Wenyan quickly turned around. “Nothing! I just wanted to tell you that it’s almost time to go home. You have a cross-border video conference at 10 p.m.”

Shen Zai nodded. “Let’s go.”

“Okay.”

Sheng Wenyan followed him downstairs. With every footstep, she felt a string around her heart tightening. With every step he took, she felt the string tighten a little more, making her feel a little suffocated and her heart tremble intensely.

She secretly took a deep breath to calm herself. “...Mr. Shen.”

“Mm.”

She looked at his back and asked, “I heard what Shen Yunni said in the study just now.”

Shen Zai didn’t even pause in his steps. He simply said, “Oh. Why?”

“Do you think what she said was true?”

This time, Shen Zai stopped. He turned around, looked down at her, and asked, “Was it true?”

Sheng Wenyan was stunned for a moment. She shook her head. “...No, it wasn’t.”

“Then it wasn’t.”